Police urge residents in tornado-devastated areas to keep an eye out for suspicious activies.
David Rosemond
SPRINGFIELD – Police have charged two suspects in recent days with stealing from tornado-damaged properties - including one man who received water from American Red Cross volunteers who were under the impression that he was a victim.
Sgt. John M. Delaney said the department has made a “handful” of such arrests in wake of the June 1 tornadoes, adding that Commissioner William J. Fitchet has been blanketing the hardest hit areas with extra officers.
That strong presence will be maintained in weeks to come, Delaney said.
Monson police reported a few isolated incidents of looting or break-ins over the last dozen or so days, and like their counterparts in Springfield, urge residents to keep their eyes out. “Don’t fail to report anything that looks suspicious,” Monson Police Sgt. James Boucher said.
Brimfield Police Chief Charles T. Kuss reported “three or four” instances of looting, primarily in the days immediately following the tornado. One, he said, yielded an arrest by police from Wales who were providing mutual aid.
“We have had a couple of instances where we saw them looting,” Kuss said. “Then they would disappear into the rubble and the woods.”
Or at least what is left of the woods. “It’s hard to catch them because the trees are all down,” Kuss said, adding that hiding place are plentiful.
Wales police were not immediately available to provide information on that arrest.
Kuss said Brimfield, along with Monson, has dealt with scammers going into relief centers “and helping themselves to free supplies.”
Such instances of looting and scamming, Kuss said, “are insulting and demeaning” to those who have had their lives devastated by tornadoes.
William RodriguezDelaney said he was touring the East Forest Park neighborhood with Robert Hassett, director of emergency preparedness, about noon on Friday when they spotted a suspect inside the fenced property of a home at 265 Island Pond Road.
The suspect was picking up lamps and other small household items from the home that was partially destroyed and marked not livable, Delaney said.
Delaney said they “observed Red Cross volunteers that were in the neighborhood hand him water as if he was a victim.”
The suspect’s pickup truck across the street was filled with lawn mowers, snow blowers, tool boxes and power drills, Delaney said.
Sgt. Juan Rosario and Officer David Ramos responded to assist and arrest the suspect, David L. Rosemond, 58, of 110 Carr St. He was charged with larceny from a building and trespassing.
On early afternoon Sunday, police were working an anti-looting detail in the South End when they were alerted to a possible break-in to building, deemed unsafe in wake of the tornado, at 92 Manhattan St., Delaney said.
Officers Clay Canning and James Jackson found a side door kicked in. Once inside, they arrested a 19-year-old man suspected of just stealing an IPod and sunglasses.
William Rodriguez, 19, of 115 Alden St., was charged with larceny from a building and trespassing, Delaney said.
West Springfield Police Capt. Daniel O’Brien reported one larceny arrest in the Merrick Section of the city several days after the tornado. “It was more junk than anything else,” he said.
The relatively small footprint of destruction in West Springfield and the rapid restoration of power there has allowed police to keep a handle on the problem. “Our impact is much more controllable, “ O’Brien said. “We had a small area of town that we could flood with people.”
Information on that arrest was not immediately available.